Dodgers, Uribe agree on two-year, $15 million deal

Los Angeles Dodgers', Juan Uribe, center, high-fives teammates as they celebrate in the dugout after Uribe's three-run home run in the ninth inning of a baseball game with the Philadelphia Phillies, Saturday, Aug. 17, 2013, in Philadelphia. The Dodgers won 5-0. (AP Photo/Tom Mihalek)

The Dodgers and third baseman Juan Uribe reached agreement Saturday on a two-year contract worth $15 million, according to multiple reports.

Uribe was the Dodgers’ primary target to fill the position after a productive 2013 season. He batted .278 with 12 home runs and 50 RBIs, and was a finalist for the National League Gold Glove Award at third base. Uribe has been praised by teammates and coaches for his character and leadership during the past three seasons in Los Angeles, even in the midst of his colossal struggles at the plate in 2011 and 2012.

But he’d rejected multiple contract offers since the season ended, forcing general manager Ned Colletti to consider his alternatives in a weak free-agent crop. There weren’t many.

“We may have to mix and match a little bit,” Colletti said Saturday morning at a charity event in South Los Angeles.

Should Uribe’s new contract become official, the Dodgers may have their 2014 Opening Day infield in place by mid-December: Uribe at third base, Hanley Ramirez at shortstop, Adrian Gonzalez at first base and rookie Alexander Guerrero — if he’s ready — at second.

The Dodgers still would like to add to their bullpen, particularly a left-hander and a long reliever, and possibly a starting pitcher as insurance for pitchers Chad Billinsgley and Josh Beckett. Both are attempting to return from season-ending surgeries.

But Uribe was the Dodgers’ key remaining in-house free agent and, potentially, their most expensive target still on the market.

At 34, Uribe had to reclaim the Dodgers’ starting third-base job. He did so with ease, punctuating his comeback season with a three-home run game in September against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Uribe provided the key hit in the NL Division Series against the Atlanta Braves, a home run off Braves pitcher David Carpenter that paved the way to a 4-3 victory in the series-clinching Game 4.

It was a remarkable turnaround from 2011 and 2012, when Uribe failed to live up to his three-year, $21 million contract. He lost his starting job while batting a combined .199 with six home runs and 45 RBIs.

Uribe surpassed those numbers in 2013 alone, apparently earning himself the multi-year contract he coveted in the process.